Evolution of LinkedIn offers opportunities for marketers

Changes currently being made to the professional social networking site LinkedIn may mean promising advertising opportunities for businesses, a new report has revealed.

According to eMarketer, the ‘massive transformation’ that the site is going through means it is shifting its focus from being a business-oriented social network to becoming more of a money-making, B2B content publishing platform. Such change should offering greater marketing and advertising opportunities for companies, who can take advantage of the new SlideShare Content Ads and Sponsored Updates.

The report, entitled “Marketing on LinkedIn: New Opportunities, but Old Issues Remain“, points to data released by ComScore, which reveals that although LinkedIn is now the second-largest social network in the world, the amount of time spent on the site has been steady over the past year, meaning that their new content offerings have not yet led to to improved usage.

Though it may take some time for the changes to take effect, LinkedIn’s move to focus more on content marketing looks to be a wise one, as eMarketer predicts a 46.7% rise in its ad revenue from last year, reaching $376 million in 2013.